#1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America

[deadpresidents]

have you read 1948 by David Peitrusa (sp?)?

I have read all of David Pietrusza's books and have been a big fan of his work for a long time. In fact, his publisher even used me as a blurb on at least the paperback editions of a couple of his books.

I'm particularly fond of Pietrusza's 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents (BOOK | KINDLE). It's a really great read and I remember breezing through it when I got it. My second favorite of his books is 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies (BOOK | KINDLE).

Like I said, I am a longtime fan of Pietrusza's writing style. He's written many books on a variety of subjects, but you especially can't go wrong with any of these books about the Presidents and Presidential elections: •1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR: Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny (BOOK | KINDLE) •TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy (BOOK | KINDLE) •Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal (BOOK | KINDLE) •1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America (BOOK | KINDLE)

[rahigumoke532864-blog]

history of audiobooks : 1948 by David Pietrusza | History

Listen to 1948 new releases history of audiobooks on your iPhone, iPad, or Android. Get any BOOKS AUDIO by David Pietrusza History FREE during your Free Trial

Written By: David Pietrusza Narrated By: Jeff Cummings Publisher: Brilliance Audio Date: November 2018 Duration: 18 hours 0 minutes

[batboyblog]

What’s on my iPod March 4 2019

So I love me some audio books so here’s a run down of what’s on my iPod right now

Non-Fiction:

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall

Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

1948: Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America by David Pietrusza

Believer: My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes by Philip Freeman

A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War by Seth Jones

A History of British India by Hayden J. Bellenoit

President Carter: The White House Years by Stuart E. Eizenstat

A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski

Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down by Gina McIntyre

Fiction:

Kens by Raziel Reid

Stranger in the Wizard's Tower by Deric McNish

Timekeeper, Chainbreaker, and Firestarter by Tara Sim

The Whispers by Greg Howard

27 Hours by Tristina Wright

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Blood Moon by MJ O’Shea

Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things by Martina McAtee

Tracker Hacker by Jeff Adams

Contagion by Erin Bowman

Cowboys Can Fly by Ken Smith 

Crossing Borders by Z. A. Maxfield

Differently Morphous by Yahtzee Croshaw

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

Ever After: A Gay Fairy Tale by Christina Lee and Riley Hart

Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

Flaunt by E. Davies

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

The Ghost Slept Over by Marshall Thornton

God of War: The Official Novelization by J. M. Barlog

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

The High King's Golden Tongue by Megan Derr

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

How to Survive a Summer by Nick White

I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip by John Donovan

Jefferson Blythe, Esquire by Josh Lanyon

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards

A List of Cages by Robin Roe

The Long Way Down by Craig Schaefer 

Marco Impossible by Hannah Moskwitz 

Maurice by EM Forster

Mythos by Stephen Fry

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Night Shift by Stephen King

Nightbooks by JA White

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault

Poet Anderson ...of Nightmares by Tom DeLonge

Powerless by Matthew Cody

Brandon Mills versus the V-Card by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

The Raging Ones by Becca Ritchie and Krista Ritchie

The Solstice Prince by S.J. Himes

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott

Schizo by Nic Sheff

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Sidekicked by John David Anderson

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

Black Wings Beating by Alex London

Slide by Garrett Leigh

Pray the Gay Away by Sara York

Spooning Leads to Forking by BA Smith

Squint by Chad Morris

Still Life Las Vegas by James Sie 

The Stone House by AK Benedict 

Stranger by Rachel Manija Brown

Summerland by Hannu Rajanemi 

Super Human by J.A. Cipriano

Power Powereds by Drew Hayes

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp 

This is Where the World Ends buy Amy Zhang

The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon

Vicious by VE Schwab 

What You Own by AM Arthur 

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

[danmartinusa]

1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America by David Pietrusza. Jeff Cummings narrates this 18-hour #Audible history book. I enjoy Pietrusza, listened to four of the author books. The wild, combative inside story of the most stunning upset in the history of presidential elections: Harry Truman's 1948 victory over Tom Dewey. (at Washington State Ferries-Kingston Terminal) https://www.instagram.com/p/By4AbqrFCVV/?igshid=peq6jykll2dm

[gibsongirlselections]

A Dewey-Beats-Truman Moment in the Offing?

The United States would normally be entering the most heated three months of the presidential campaign season right now. Lingering fear of the coronavirus, however, combined with overwrought safety precautions, have people debating whether or not there will even be in-person voting on election day. The political landscape is devoid of rallies, handshakes, and bus tours, while this year introduced America to its first all-digital nominating convention. 

Even though the procedurals of this election may be abnormal, that doesn’t mean American political history isn’t filled with apt comparisons to our current moment. Earlier this year, TAC Senior Reporter Curt Mills compared 2020 to its centurial precedent, arguing that like Warren G. Harding, Joe Biden could ride a wave of nostalgia for “normalcy” into the White House. 

But what if the opposite is true? What if the electorate decides that it prefers a dynamic, shoot-from-the-hip incumbent over a safe and staid challenger?

That’s exactly what happened in 1948, the extraordinary upset that saw President Harry Truman win reelection against New York Governor Thomas Dewey. 

Few observers predicted that result at the start of the year. “Truman is not FDR,” explains historian David Pietrusza, author of 1948: Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America. “Truman lacks a certain gravitas. The saying at the time is ‘To err is Truman.’ So he makes a lot of gaffs early on.”

Sound familiar?

Things began to turn around when the haberdasher from Missouri turned on the fighting spirit that earned him the “Give ‘em Hell, Harry” moniker. “And what really happens with Truman, [he] becomes sort of Trump-esque,” Pietrusza told TAC, elaborating on how Truman abandoned prepared speeches in favor of informal talks, similar to how Trump goes off on spontaneous riffs in front of crowded stadiums. 

And just as Truman called an emergency session of Congress with demands to pass his legislative agenda, earlier this month Trump issued new executive orders to bypass a divided congress and provide economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic. “I think people like action,” observes Pietrusza, who has authored authoritative books on four separate presidential campaigns. “Conservatism is good, but politically people like someone who seems to be doing something for you.” 

Likewise, the similarities between Joe Biden and Thomas Dewey are more than superficial. For starters, Dewey was also on his third attempt at the presidency, although he successfully captured his party’s nomination while still over thirty years Biden’s junior. And both men decided to select as a running mate a California progressive with a penchant for imprisoning minorities. 

Where they diverge is in personality. While the mustachioed Dewey was pompous with a notoriously cold demeanor, “Uncle Joe” is all smiles, tight hugs, and affectionate backslaps. But in a campaign where human contact is verboten, Biden is at a loss. Without the opportunity to practice the old-style politics that he built his fifty-year career upon, the former Vice President is left with emotionally distant Zoom calls. 

It has become apparent that Biden’s political program does not go far beyond his personal claim to decency, and his endlessly repeated cliché that we are in “a battle for the soul of this nation.” He stands as a candidate without cause. 

It is their lack of substance where Biden and Dewey are the most compatible. “Dewey’s speeches are very canned,” said Pietrusza. “Dewey was really giving a very bland, not saying much of anything, no great fire or emotion type of speech.”

So notorious was Dewey for his empty words and hollow platitudes that after his defeat, the Louisville Courier-Journal wrote, “No presidential candidate in the future will be so inept that four of his major speeches can be boiled down to these historic four sentences: Agriculture is important. Our rivers are full of fish. You cannot have freedom without liberty. Our future lies ahead.” 

“Dewey is not physically hiding, but in terms of program and reasons to vote for him, he’s hiding during that campaign,” concluded Pietrusza. 

Joe Biden, provided with the excuse of public health hysteria, is one-upping his 1940s predecessor and is actually hiding from public appearances. Not only has the candidate been dodging major media interviews and the Sunday show circuit, but there are already whispers that he could skip the fall presidential debates.

During the Democratic primary, Biden promised to beat Donald Trump “like a drum.” If he ducks his only opportunity to do so in person, he’ll fall into yet another Dewey parallel. In the days before the election, Harry Truman accused his opponent of being a “tool of fascists.” The only response Dewey could muster was to chastise the president for promoting “antagonism and prejudice.” How easy is it to imagine a similar exchange this October?

It must be said that despite his disadvantageous start, Truman had the externals on his side. A majority of the country remained New Deal Democrats, and the economy was beginning its post-war boom. Trump, on the other hand, has never been able to cobble together a majority coalition, and the economy has been significantly damaged by state lockdowns. 

But in a competition between aggression and complacency, the comeback power of the forty-sixth president cannot be discounted. Perhaps the American people will wake up on November 4th with Donald Trump ironically retweeting the CNN headline, “BIDEN DEFEATS TRUMP.” 

Hunter DeRensis is Assistant Editor at the Libertarian Institute and a regular contributor to The American Conservative. You can follow him on Twitter @HunterDeRensis.

The post A Dewey-Beats-Truman Moment in the Offing? appeared first on The American Conservative.

[deadpresidents]

BOOKS ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS •What It Takes: The Way to the White House by Richard Ben Cramer (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •American Journal: The Events of 1976 by Elizabeth Drew (BOOK) •Marathon: The Pursuit of the Presidency, 1972-1976 by Jules Witcover (BOOK) •Wake Us When It's Over: Presidential Politics of 1984 by Jack W. Germond and Jules Witcover (BOOK) •The Making of the President 1960 by Theodore H. White (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Making of the President 1964 by Theodore H. White (BOOK | KINDLE) •The Making of the President 1968 by Theodore H. White (BOOK | KINDLE) •The Making of the President 1972 by Theodore H. White (BOOK | KINDLE) •Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Double Down: Game Change 2012 by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •1920: The Year of the Six Presidents by David Pietrusza (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR -- Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny by David Pietrusza (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal by David Pietrusza (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America by David Pietrusza (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies by David Pietrusza (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House by Michael Lewis (BOOK | KINDLE) •The Choice by Bob Woodward (BOOK | KINDLE) •Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History by John Dickerson (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

[deadpresidents]

HERBERT HOOVER •An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover by Richard Norton Smith (BOOK) •Herbert Hoover: A Biography by Eugene Lyons (BOOK) •Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency by Charles Rappleye (BOOK | KINDLE) •Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times by Kenneth Whyte (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT •Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Traitor To His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H.W. Brands (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom by Conrad Black (BOOK | KINDLE) •Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life by Robert Dallek (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

HARRY S. TRUMAN •Truman by David McCullough (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America by David Pietrusza (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman by Harry S. Truman, Edited by Robert H. Ferrell (BOOK) •Harry S. Truman by Margaret Truman (BOOK)

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER •Eisenhower by Geoffrey Perret (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Eisenhower, Volume I: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890-1952 by Stephen E. Ambrose (BOOK | KINDLE) •Eisenhower, Volume II: The President by Stephen E. Ambrose (BOOK | KINDLE) •The Supreme Commander: The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower by Stephen E. Ambrose (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

JOHN F. KENNEDY •An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (BOOK | KINDLE) •Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency by Mark K. Updegrove (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 by Fredrik Logevall (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

[deadpresidents]

What do you think of David Pietrusza's work? I interviewed him last week for a research project I had and he seems very knowledgable.

I’m a big, big fan of David Pietrusza. I’ve reviewed three of his books -- 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents; 1948: Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America; and, 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies -- and I’ve enjoyed them all. His books are of course deeply researched, but what I especially appreciate is Pietrusza’s engaging writing style. He’s just flat-out fun to read.

(Plus, on a personal level, I always thought it was cool that he included a blurb from my review of 1920 on his website directly next to blurbs from President Bush, Amity Shlaes, and top-notch historians and critics, even though I had just started my blog at that time and his book was literally one of the first that I ever reviewed. I think he’s probably updated his website since then, but that was kind of exciting for me at the time since I never expected anyone to ever actually read anything that I was writing!)

[deadpresidents]

I know a guy who is planning on running a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game on a forum I frequent. In the game, we would play from the perspective of Harry Truman, making decisions and running the country. Can you recommend any books on Truman and his administration that I can forward to the guy planning on running the CYOA?

The main one would be David McCullough’s Truman (BOOK | KINDLE), which is the definitive Truman biography, in my opinion.

Some other suggestions:•Harry S. Truman (BOOK | KINDLE) by Margaret Truman [President Truman’s daughter and only child.]•Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller•Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman edited by Robert H. Ferrell [This book features some really interesting letters and memos that Truman wrote, often while angry, but later thought better of and never mailed.]•1948: Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America by David Pietrusza [Focusing on the 1948 “Dewey Defeats Truman” campaign.]•Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower, and a Dangerous World (BOOK | KINDLE) by William Lee Miller [Focuses on the volatile relationship between Truman and Eisenhower which was heated throughout both of their Presidencies and only cooled after President Kennedy’s assassination.]•The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War (BOOK | KINDLE) by H.W. Brands [This one is about the even more volatile relationship between President Truman and General Douglas MacArthur, which resulted in Truman firing MacArthur during the Korean War.]